Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, selling 3,298 shares, leaving it with 57,929 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• Merck's quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations with earnings per share of $2.13 on revenue of $15.81 billion, while the company set its FY 2025 EPS guidance between 8.870 and 8.970.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,298 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

MRK stock traded up $1.1030 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.1830. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,973,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,141,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $120.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $81.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.